Third Man Out (film)
Encyclopedia
Third Man Out is a 2005
gay
-themed mystery film
. It is the first film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey
.
Donald Strachey
arrives at the Albany Medical Center to meet with a client. While there, he sees his partner, Tim Callahan, who is escorting his boss, a prominent New York
state senator
who is there for a photo op with the comatose Catholic
Bishop
McFee whose diocese consists of, among others, St. Michael's Catholic Church. Strachey is approached by Santin, who reveals that the client that approached him is none other than Rutka, who Strachey despises for his activities outing
prominent local closeted homophobes. Despite attempts by Rutka and Santin to convince Strachey to help find out who shot John, Donald declines the assignment. That night, a man determinedly barges into Rutka's hospital room unauthorized, only to find that Rutka has already checked out.
Rutka visits Strachey's home, but he remains unmoved, until Rutka offers him a $5,000 retainer. Strachey relunctantly accepts the job, mostly because of recent money troubles stemming from a home renovation bearing on his mind. Timmy, who has an even stronger distaste for Rutka's tactics, objects at first, but also agrees that they can't afford to pick and choose their clients in their current financial situation.
The next morning, Rutka shows Strachey his attic, where he keeps his various files on both his past and prospective outing targets. One of them is Bruno Slinger, a prominent state politician who has voted against gay rights in the past, on whom Rutka has a file which includes photographic evidence of his sexual involvement with men. Suddenly, a fire breaks out at Ruka's house, which Strachey puts out and then investigates. As the case progresses, Strachey becomes convinced that Rutka and Santin are staging the various criminal incidents themselves, thanks in part to the assertion by Detective Sean "Bub" Bailey that Rutka has a long history of deception. Finally, Strachey decides that he can no longer continue with the case and informs Rutka that he will return the unused portion of the retainer.
The next morning, a news program reports that Rutka was killed hours after Strachey severed ties with him and the investigation. Santin calls them, expression indignation that Strachey refused to believe that the death threats against Rutka were genuine. Strachey expresses remorse, and then goes back with Santin to the attic to retrieve all of Rutka's files for safekeeping. With John officially dead, Strachey's search for Rutka's would-be assassin is now a murder investigation. He asks Santin who the next target might have been, but Santin only knows that it might have been one of three people—Slinger, local children's show host Ronnie Linkletter, and a mysterious third possibility identified only in Rutka's records as "Ultimate Hypocritical Asshole". Donald finds a plastic mud flap
, torn off of an unidentified person's car. Later, he comes across initials for three persons who received substantial payments from Rutka—N.Z., H.G., and D.R. Through local sex worker
Dik Steel, he obtains the identity of the first - Nathan Zenck, who runs a fancy hotel -- and spies on his guests' sexual rendezvous through hidden video cameras. Strachey confronts Zenck, who mentions that Bruno Slinger is sexually connected to Ronnie Linkletter and reveals that the second initials are undoubtedly those of Howie Glade, who owns a lower quality motel. The third initials remain unknown, but after interrogating Glade, Strachey finds out that Linkletter was previously involved in sexual liaisons every Wednesday night with an unknown man (not Slinger) who was injured and possibly killed by a fallen ceiling mirror weeks ago; Glade was unable to find out the man's identity, but manages to get the license plates to his car. Strachey manages to trace the plates to a used car dealer named Art Murphy, who refuses to cooperate with the investigation, threatening to bludgeon Donald until he retreats.
At the couple's home, Timmy is attacked by the man who visited Rutka's hospital room earlier. Strachey arrives in time to drive him away, but Timmy is hospitalized. Timmy recovers, but the experience shakes Donald enough to consider abandoning the case, until Timmy, who has had a change of heart about Rutka, convinces him to press on. Next, Strachey interviews Linkletter in his studio dressing room, but the kids show host denies that either he or Slinger had any involvement in Rutka's death, and refuses to reveal the identity of the man the motel mirror fell on. However, after Donald's talk with Ronnie, he gets the impression the man survived the accident. As Strachey leaves the studio, the man who attacked Tim ambushes Donald, knocking him unconscious. When he wakes, he is greeted by the man's boss -- Slinger, who also denies involvement in Rutka's murder and demands that he hands over the file Rutka had on Bruno. Slinger allows Strachey to leave unharmed, but the P.I. can't get any answers from the Congressman, who says that Ronnie never told him the identify of the man injured in the motel fall. Strachey gets a slight lead from the exchange, learning that Linkletter and Rutka were both involved in St. Michaels' choir.
Back at the hospital, Tim is ready to be discharged, but the couple come across Art Murphy and his wife, visiting Bishop McFee. At Strachey's behest, Tim finds out that McFee is Murphy's brother-in-law and that he was the man that drove the car every Wednesday—and was sexually involved with Linkletter, explaining the true nature of the accident that had put McFee into a coma until now. Tim then uses his connections in the seminary to ask St. Michael's local priest, Father Morgan, who would have been the parish priest when John Rutka was in the church choir. Morgan excuses himself, heading out the back way, but the authorities are there waiting for him. Strachey, who had been holding onto the car flap, identifies it as part of the car McFee drove on Wednesdays, and now driven by Morgan. Morgan is arrested, not only for his part in covering up McFee's history of sex crimes, but also for the apparent murder of John Rutka. Scandal hits Morgan, McFee and the entire parish.
Come Saturday, Strachey, Tim, Eddie, John's sister Ann, and other friends are attending John Rutka's funeral. Eddie graciously offers Donald the remaining fee for his work in solving Rutka's murder and gives the couple a business card to send the bill to. Strachey looks at the name and figures out the last of the trio of mysterious initials - David Resuto, the Rutka family lawyer. Strachey immediately grills Ann as to why Resuto would be getting $14,000, the largest of the payments made out to anyone in Rutka's financial ledger. Ann reluctantly explains that the payments were for a life insurance policy—and the beneficiary is Eddie. The private eye, suspicious of the payments after being told earlier that Santin was removed from Rutka's will, follows him to the airport and catches up to him. As he confronts Eddie, he is shocked to see a very alive John Rutka standing next to him. John explains his elaborate plan to fake his death, frame Father Morgan for a fake murder, expose McFee as a pedophile (as well as The Ultimate Hypocritical Asshole), and use the insurance money to start up a network of cheap drugs for AIDS
patients in Mexico
. He knew that the controversy of outing has faded as acceptance of people based on sexual orientation is rising. Rutka reveals that Eddie initially believed his lover was dead, and that John was the one who planted the mud flap where Strachey could find it. Donald is outraged at the deception, until Rutka reveals that he too was a victim of McFee's molestation, starting when John was only 9. Donald protests that regardless of the sex abuse cover-up, Morgan will go to prison for a murder that he did not commit. Rutka agrees that Strachey can tell the authorities that he saw him still alive, and exonerate him for that part of his sentence. Donald wavers from his determination to turn Rutka in for his crimes, but before he allows the couple to leave the country, he follows-up on a throwaway comment Rutka made earlier. Rutka reveals that he had a file on Strachey, a former Sergeant in the U.S. military
, who had to leave the service with an honorable discharge when his sexual orientation
was revealed—at the expense of the lieutenant he was caught in bed with, who received a much more severe punishment as the scapegoat of the two.
Rutka is allowed to leave the country. Donald and Timmy realize how much insight on the complexities of life—and people—this experience has given them, and they conclude that life is not as black and white as both of them previously thought. This doesn't stop them from toasting their new perspective—and their now finished fireplace—by performing the one act of absolute good they are still sure of—the destruction of Rutka's file on Strachey.
, but was forced out because of the ban on gay servicemembers. This subplot is explored further and in much more depth in the sequel, Shock to the System
.
's books about the gay private eye, Donald Strachey, it was not the first of his novels to be published. It appears then that the order of the films differs from that of the books, as characters such as Detective Bub Bailey and Kenny Kwon are introduced to Strachey in this film, and he sees them again in On the Other Hand, Death
and Ice Blues
, even though the novels the latter two are adapted from took place chronologically before the book version of Third Man Out.
In addition, some minor details are changed from the books. Since the internet was not widely known the year Third Man Out (the novel) was published, Queerscreed, which is the name of John Rutka's publication from which he outs prominent closeted homophobes, is something he passes out solely in print in the book version, while in the film it's renamed The Rutka Report and is also available on the web.
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
-themed mystery film
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
. It is the first film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey
Donald Strachey
Donald Strachey is a fictional character who appears in novels by mystery writer Richard Stevenson.Strachey, a gay man, lives in Albany, New York, with his partner Timothy Callahan, who works as a legislative aide to a New York state senator...
.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Chad Allen Chad Allen (actor) Chad Allen is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of seven, Allen is a three-time Young Artist Award winner and GLAAD Media Award honoree, best known for rising to prominence as a teen idol during the late 1980s as David Witherspoon on the NBC family drama,... |
Donald Strachey Donald Strachey Donald Strachey is a fictional character who appears in novels by mystery writer Richard Stevenson.Strachey, a gay man, lives in Albany, New York, with his partner Timothy Callahan, who works as a legislative aide to a New York state senator... |
| Sebastian Spence Sebastian Spence Sebastian Spence is an actor who played the lead role as Cade Foster in the TV series First Wave.Spence is the son of the late playwright Michael Cook and playwright and actress Janis Spence... |
Timmy Callahan |
| Jack Wetherall Jack Wetherall Jack Wetherall is a Canadian actor. Although best known for his supporting role as Vic Grassi on the television series Queer as Folk, he has been primarily associated with stage roles.... |
John Rutka |
| Woody Jeffreys | Eddie Santin |
| Sean Young Sean Young Sean Young is an American actress, best known for her performance in films from the 1980s such as Blade Runner, Dune, and No Way Out.-Early life:... |
Ann Rutka |
| April Telek April Telek -Early life and career:Telek was born and raised on the North Shore of Vancouver, British Columbia. In Japan she pursued her modeling career and won a Shiseido Cosmetics contract for Asia from 1989-1990. In April 1994 she won the title of Miss Canada and represented Canada in several International... |
Alice Savage |
| John Moore | Bishop McFee |
| Alf Humphries Alf Humphries Alfred Humphreys is a Canadian actor who has appeared in movies and on television.Humphreys was born in Ontario. He relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he currently resides.... |
Father Morgan |
| P. Lynn Johnson | Senator Dianne Glassman |
| Guy Fauchon | Newspaper Photographer |
| James Michalopolous | Dark Glasses |
| Moneca Delain | Nurse |
| Kirsten Williamson Kirsten Williamson Kirsten Williamson is a Canadian actor. She voices the character Ororo Munroe in the television series X-Men: Evolution. She also had a role as Tammy in RV. She has also appeared in Jeremiah, Da Vinci's Inquest, and Da Vinci's City Hall. She had small roles in The Last Mimzy, and in Juno as a... |
Meredith |
| David Palffy David Palffy David Palffy is a Canadian film and television actor of Welsh and Hungarian descent. He has a degree from the University of Calgary . He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and was cast in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. Palffy has many television/film credits as an actor and as a... |
Bruno Slinger |
| Colin Lawrence | Cole |
| Mary Belle McDonald | Eleanor |
| Anthony O'Clery | Redd Koontz |
| Daryl Shuttleworth Daryl Shuttleworth Daryl Shuttleworth is a Canadian actor. He has had numerous small roles in a wide variety of North American television shows and films over the years, but is best known for his role as Detective Sean "Bub" Bailey in the gay-themed Donald Strachey mystery films.Shuttleworth is the former president... |
Detective Sean "Bub" Bailey |
| Andrew Moxham | Dark Figure #1 |
| Warren Takeuchi | Dark Figure #2 |
| Sean Carey | Ronnie Linkletter |
| Claudine Grant | Newscaster |
| Matthew Rush Matthew Rush (porn star) Matthew Rush is a retired bi-racial American pornographic actor who appeared in gay pornographic films and magazines. He is also a bodybuilder and personal trainer under his real name... |
Dik Steele |
| Mark Acheson Mark Acheson Mark Acheson is a Canadian actor, who works for the Ocean Group Company. He was the narrator in Transformers: Energon, and also voiced Unicron in Transformers: Armada, including the voice of Crumplezone in Transformers: Cybertron... |
Fake Dik Steele Male |
| Lisa Dahling | Fake Dik Steele Female |
| Nelson Wong | Kenny Kwon |
| Kevin Blatch | Nathan Zenck |
| Richard Cox | Howie Glade |
| Giuseppe Abbruzzese | Man In Video |
| Carrie Patershuck | Woman In Video |
| Kevin O'Grady | Man #2 |
| Scott Swanson | Art Murphy |
| Sonja Bakker | Joan |
| Kwesi Ameyaw | Reporter #1 |
| Nicola Crosbie | Reporter #2 |
| Rob deLeeuw Rob deLeeuw Rob deLeeuw is a Canadian actor, who currently plays Vic Morgenstein on the IFC sitcom The Business.In 2009 he appeared as B.J. Biff in Ratko: The Dictator's Son.-References:... |
Puppeteer |
| Sibel Thrasher RAMP RAMP was an American soul/jazz band from Cincinnati, Ohio. RAMP has mistakenly been said to stand for "Roy Ayers Music Production" and "Roy Ayers Music Project", but Ayers was not a member, though he did write and produce songs on their debut album.... |
Diva Singer |
| Carl McDonald | Drag Queen |
Synopsis
At the home of John Rutka and Eddie Santin, Rutka is apparently shot by an unknown assailant. Later, private eyePrivate investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
Donald Strachey
Donald Strachey
Donald Strachey is a fictional character who appears in novels by mystery writer Richard Stevenson.Strachey, a gay man, lives in Albany, New York, with his partner Timothy Callahan, who works as a legislative aide to a New York state senator...
arrives at the Albany Medical Center to meet with a client. While there, he sees his partner, Tim Callahan, who is escorting his boss, a prominent New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state senator
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's Senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's one house State Legislature.There are typically fewer state senators than there are members of a state's lower house...
who is there for a photo op with the comatose Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
McFee whose diocese consists of, among others, St. Michael's Catholic Church. Strachey is approached by Santin, who reveals that the client that approached him is none other than Rutka, who Strachey despises for his activities outing
Outing
Outing is the act of disclosing a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person's true sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. Outing gives rise to issues of privacy, choice, hypocrisy, and harm in addition to sparking debate on what constitutes common good in efforts...
prominent local closeted homophobes. Despite attempts by Rutka and Santin to convince Strachey to help find out who shot John, Donald declines the assignment. That night, a man determinedly barges into Rutka's hospital room unauthorized, only to find that Rutka has already checked out.
Rutka visits Strachey's home, but he remains unmoved, until Rutka offers him a $5,000 retainer. Strachey relunctantly accepts the job, mostly because of recent money troubles stemming from a home renovation bearing on his mind. Timmy, who has an even stronger distaste for Rutka's tactics, objects at first, but also agrees that they can't afford to pick and choose their clients in their current financial situation.
The next morning, Rutka shows Strachey his attic, where he keeps his various files on both his past and prospective outing targets. One of them is Bruno Slinger, a prominent state politician who has voted against gay rights in the past, on whom Rutka has a file which includes photographic evidence of his sexual involvement with men. Suddenly, a fire breaks out at Ruka's house, which Strachey puts out and then investigates. As the case progresses, Strachey becomes convinced that Rutka and Santin are staging the various criminal incidents themselves, thanks in part to the assertion by Detective Sean "Bub" Bailey that Rutka has a long history of deception. Finally, Strachey decides that he can no longer continue with the case and informs Rutka that he will return the unused portion of the retainer.
The next morning, a news program reports that Rutka was killed hours after Strachey severed ties with him and the investigation. Santin calls them, expression indignation that Strachey refused to believe that the death threats against Rutka were genuine. Strachey expresses remorse, and then goes back with Santin to the attic to retrieve all of Rutka's files for safekeeping. With John officially dead, Strachey's search for Rutka's would-be assassin is now a murder investigation. He asks Santin who the next target might have been, but Santin only knows that it might have been one of three people—Slinger, local children's show host Ronnie Linkletter, and a mysterious third possibility identified only in Rutka's records as "Ultimate Hypocritical Asshole". Donald finds a plastic mud flap
Mudflap
A mudflap is used in combination with the vehicle fender to protect the vehicle, passengers, other vehicles, and pedestrians from mud and other flying debris thrown into the air by the rotating tire...
, torn off of an unidentified person's car. Later, he comes across initials for three persons who received substantial payments from Rutka—N.Z., H.G., and D.R. Through local sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
Dik Steel, he obtains the identity of the first - Nathan Zenck, who runs a fancy hotel -- and spies on his guests' sexual rendezvous through hidden video cameras. Strachey confronts Zenck, who mentions that Bruno Slinger is sexually connected to Ronnie Linkletter and reveals that the second initials are undoubtedly those of Howie Glade, who owns a lower quality motel. The third initials remain unknown, but after interrogating Glade, Strachey finds out that Linkletter was previously involved in sexual liaisons every Wednesday night with an unknown man (not Slinger) who was injured and possibly killed by a fallen ceiling mirror weeks ago; Glade was unable to find out the man's identity, but manages to get the license plates to his car. Strachey manages to trace the plates to a used car dealer named Art Murphy, who refuses to cooperate with the investigation, threatening to bludgeon Donald until he retreats.
At the couple's home, Timmy is attacked by the man who visited Rutka's hospital room earlier. Strachey arrives in time to drive him away, but Timmy is hospitalized. Timmy recovers, but the experience shakes Donald enough to consider abandoning the case, until Timmy, who has had a change of heart about Rutka, convinces him to press on. Next, Strachey interviews Linkletter in his studio dressing room, but the kids show host denies that either he or Slinger had any involvement in Rutka's death, and refuses to reveal the identity of the man the motel mirror fell on. However, after Donald's talk with Ronnie, he gets the impression the man survived the accident. As Strachey leaves the studio, the man who attacked Tim ambushes Donald, knocking him unconscious. When he wakes, he is greeted by the man's boss -- Slinger, who also denies involvement in Rutka's murder and demands that he hands over the file Rutka had on Bruno. Slinger allows Strachey to leave unharmed, but the P.I. can't get any answers from the Congressman, who says that Ronnie never told him the identify of the man injured in the motel fall. Strachey gets a slight lead from the exchange, learning that Linkletter and Rutka were both involved in St. Michaels' choir.
Back at the hospital, Tim is ready to be discharged, but the couple come across Art Murphy and his wife, visiting Bishop McFee. At Strachey's behest, Tim finds out that McFee is Murphy's brother-in-law and that he was the man that drove the car every Wednesday—and was sexually involved with Linkletter, explaining the true nature of the accident that had put McFee into a coma until now. Tim then uses his connections in the seminary to ask St. Michael's local priest, Father Morgan, who would have been the parish priest when John Rutka was in the church choir. Morgan excuses himself, heading out the back way, but the authorities are there waiting for him. Strachey, who had been holding onto the car flap, identifies it as part of the car McFee drove on Wednesdays, and now driven by Morgan. Morgan is arrested, not only for his part in covering up McFee's history of sex crimes, but also for the apparent murder of John Rutka. Scandal hits Morgan, McFee and the entire parish.
Come Saturday, Strachey, Tim, Eddie, John's sister Ann, and other friends are attending John Rutka's funeral. Eddie graciously offers Donald the remaining fee for his work in solving Rutka's murder and gives the couple a business card to send the bill to. Strachey looks at the name and figures out the last of the trio of mysterious initials - David Resuto, the Rutka family lawyer. Strachey immediately grills Ann as to why Resuto would be getting $14,000, the largest of the payments made out to anyone in Rutka's financial ledger. Ann reluctantly explains that the payments were for a life insurance policy—and the beneficiary is Eddie. The private eye, suspicious of the payments after being told earlier that Santin was removed from Rutka's will, follows him to the airport and catches up to him. As he confronts Eddie, he is shocked to see a very alive John Rutka standing next to him. John explains his elaborate plan to fake his death, frame Father Morgan for a fake murder, expose McFee as a pedophile (as well as The Ultimate Hypocritical Asshole), and use the insurance money to start up a network of cheap drugs for AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
patients in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He knew that the controversy of outing has faded as acceptance of people based on sexual orientation is rising. Rutka reveals that Eddie initially believed his lover was dead, and that John was the one who planted the mud flap where Strachey could find it. Donald is outraged at the deception, until Rutka reveals that he too was a victim of McFee's molestation, starting when John was only 9. Donald protests that regardless of the sex abuse cover-up, Morgan will go to prison for a murder that he did not commit. Rutka agrees that Strachey can tell the authorities that he saw him still alive, and exonerate him for that part of his sentence. Donald wavers from his determination to turn Rutka in for his crimes, but before he allows the couple to leave the country, he follows-up on a throwaway comment Rutka made earlier. Rutka reveals that he had a file on Strachey, a former Sergeant in the U.S. military
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, who had to leave the service with an honorable discharge when his sexual orientation
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
was revealed—at the expense of the lieutenant he was caught in bed with, who received a much more severe punishment as the scapegoat of the two.
Rutka is allowed to leave the country. Donald and Timmy realize how much insight on the complexities of life—and people—this experience has given them, and they conclude that life is not as black and white as both of them previously thought. This doesn't stop them from toasting their new perspective—and their now finished fireplace—by performing the one act of absolute good they are still sure of—the destruction of Rutka's file on Strachey.
Continuity
This film reveals that before becoming a private investigator, Donald was in the armed servicesUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, but was forced out because of the ban on gay servicemembers. This subplot is explored further and in much more depth in the sequel, Shock to the System
Shock to the System (film)
Shock to the System is a 2006 gay-themed mystery film. It is the second film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey. The film premiered at the 2006 Outfest film festival before going into rotation on the here! television network.- Cast :-Plot:Late one...
.
Production notes
Although this was the first film adaptation of one of Richard StevensonRichard Lipez
Richard Lipez is an openly gay American journalist and mystery author. Richard currently resides in Massachusetts...
's books about the gay private eye, Donald Strachey, it was not the first of his novels to be published. It appears then that the order of the films differs from that of the books, as characters such as Detective Bub Bailey and Kenny Kwon are introduced to Strachey in this film, and he sees them again in On the Other Hand, Death
On the Other Hand, Death
On the Other Hand, Death is a 2008 gay-themed mystery film. It is the third film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey...
and Ice Blues
Ice Blues
Ice Blues is a 2008 gay-themed mystery television movie starring Chad Allen and Sebastian Spence, and directed by Emmy-nominated Canadian-born director Ron Oliver. featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey...
, even though the novels the latter two are adapted from took place chronologically before the book version of Third Man Out.
In addition, some minor details are changed from the books. Since the internet was not widely known the year Third Man Out (the novel) was published, Queerscreed, which is the name of John Rutka's publication from which he outs prominent closeted homophobes, is something he passes out solely in print in the book version, while in the film it's renamed The Rutka Report and is also available on the web.
External links
- Third Man Out at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Third Man Out at Allmovie.com